They Blocked The Roads So That We Could Not Run

they blocked the roads so that we could not run
and so we flew, dream past dream
and all the evening through past evensong;

the steel rivers, the unblinking dawns.
but they, they blocked the roads
and thought they were the stronger.

did we find detours, we were never

that sure of the way we went
or if we went at all.
but we were there when stars

fell into our hands
and we could understand
this was how it would be

whenever we did not care
that they blocked the roads
or that they blocked them everywhere

so that we would not roam;
not knowing we could make our
home an anywhere or nowhere, simply at all.

all this, despite their ears to the ground
and them hearing no music
because they were obstinate or

the clouds of snows as they descended
veil upon veil
and mind beyond mind.

within us,
obliterating their tracks.

mary angela douglas 13 august 2016